1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains with the general field of acoustical or firestopping insulating including, possibly, intumescent or felt-type material components for resisting the spreading of fire, heat and smoke and, alternatively, inhibiting sound transmission therethrough. In the prior art various systems were utilized for the purposes of achieving insulation of head-of-wall joints but all have been proved to be inadequate for various reasons. For example, traditionally mineral wool has been installed or coatings or sealants have been applied in these in these areas for achieving firestop sealing and for acoustical sealing various different materials have been used to prevent sound transmission. Also, the use of tape which includes an intumescent component has been applied to the downwardly facing portion of outwardly extending flanges of the track for firestopping. These systems include various important disadvantages. Such prior art heat-of wall insulating attempts have required an extensive amount of manual labor at the job site during installation and they are subject to variation in installation techniques which can possibly lead to substandard insulation due to human error installation personnel. Also, when using insulating tape and other similar materials, the metal tracks often require a use of a unique construction on the exterior surface of the metal track. Such unique configurations can include predefined recessed areas or the like which identifies a specific location for the placement of an intumescent and/or acoustic layer of insulation material such as in the form of a tape which, thusly, requires extreme accuracy in placement of the tape of the like. One of the advantages of the apparatus of the present invention is that it is usable with conventionally OEM metal track construction, particularly those used with walls configurations having double studs or larger studs rather than requiring a specially designed metal header track construction. More particularly, the present invention does not require any customized design for the ceiling runner, primarily, because the present construction is designed used without being attached to the track side surfaces sections in any manner whatsoever. Particularly, the present design is very adaptable to applications which allow for some amount relative movement between wall and ceiling components which define the head-of-wall area therebetween during normal expansion and contraction of building materials.
In particular, as the head-of-wall joint moves responsive to normal expansion and contraction of other building components, the insulating tape and/or the coatings of insulating material which are attached directly to the surfaces of the downwardly extending side sections of the ceiling track can become dislodged from components of the head-of-wall area, that is, particularly dislodging from the surfaces of the downwardly extending side sections of the track or runner. The insulation of the present construction is attached only to the outside surface of the top horizontal portion of the track in most applications. In certain other applications, the side pieces can be attached mechanically to the lowermost edge of the downwardly extending side portions of the track. However attachment is never made directly to the outer facing surface of the vertically extending portions of the metal header tracker. Also, prior art configurations do not specifically address the issue of variations in the contour or profile of the ceiling or roof area which comes into direct abutment with the upper portion of the metal track. Such variations in the configuration of the building construction in this area can form gaps between the track and the adjacent roof or ceiling undersurface area which are problematical are not adequately addressed by the insulation configurations of all prior art insulating designs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many patents have been granted for various constructions for insulating head-of-wall joints such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,702 patented Apr. 30, 1991 to T. L. Daw et al and assigned to Daw Technologies, Inc. on a “Modular Wall System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,203 patented Jul. 7, 1992 to R. F. Paquette on a “Seismic/Fire Resistant Wall Structure and Method”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,066 patented May 26, 1998 to D. W. Becker on a “Slip Track Assembly; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,788 patented Jun. 22, 1999 to T. R. Herren on a “Fire Blocking And Seismic Resistant Wall Structure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,041 patented Jul. 13, 1999 to J. D. Egri, II on a “Bottom Track For Wall Assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,385 patented Sep. 14, 1999 to T. R. Herren on an “Interior Shaft Wall Construction”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,058,668 patented May 9, 2000 to T. R. Herren on a “Seismic And Fire-Resistant Head-of-Wall Structure”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,053 patented Jan. 23, 2001 to Roger C. A. St. Germain and assigned to Robert C. A. St. Germain on a “Wall Track Assembly And Method For Installing The Same”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,043,880 patented May 16, 2006 to M. D. Morgan et al and assigned to W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,385 patented Dec. 26, 2006 to M. D. Morgan et al and assigned to W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. on “In Situ Molded Thermal Barriers”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,240,905 patented Jul. 10, 2007 to J. P. Stahl, Sr. and assigned to Specified Technologies, Inc. on a “Method And Apparatus For Sealing A Joint Gap Between Two Independently Movable Structural Substrates”; and U. S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0178363 published Jul. 16, 2009 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on an “Exterior Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2009/0223159 published Sep. 10, 2009 to Mark Colon on a “Fire Block And Thermal Barrier System For Fluted Metal Decks”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,643 patented Nov. 17, 2009 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Rated Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,681,365 patented Mar. 23, 2010 to J. A. Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblock Systems And Related Wall Assemblies”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,752,817 patented Jul. 13, 2010 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Two-Piece Track System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,814,718 patented Oct. 19, 2010 to J. A. Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblocks”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,866,108 patented Jan. 11, 2011 to J. A. Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblock Systems And Related Wall Assemblies”; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0011019 published Jan. 20, 2011 to James P. Stahl, Jr. et al and assigned to Specified Technologies Inc. on a “Firestopping Sealing Means For Use With Gypsum Wallboard In Head-Of-Wall Construction”; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0113709 published May 19, 2011 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Wall Gap Fire Block Device, System and Method”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,950,198 patented May 31, 2011 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Rated Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0185656 published Aug. 4, 2011 to J. A. Klein on a “Fire Retardant Cover For Fluted Roof Deck”; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0214371 published Sep. 8, 2011 on an “Offset Leg Framing Element For Fire Stop Applications” to James A. Klein; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2011/0247281 published Oct. 13, 2011 to D. A. Pilz et al and assigned to California Expanded Metal Products Company on a “Fire-Rated Wall Construction Product”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,056,293 patented Nov. 15, 2011 to James A. Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblock Systems And Related Wall Assemblies” and U.S. Pat. No. 8,181,404 patented May 22, 2012 to James Alan Klein on “Head-Of-Wall Fireblocks And Related Wall Assemblies”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,298,967 patented Oct. 30, 2012 on an “Exterior Finishing System And Building Wall Containing A Corrosion-Resistant Enhanced Thickness Fabric” to William F. Egan et al and assigned to BASF Corporation; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,316,605 patented Nov. 27, 2012 to Craig Oberg on “Insulated Metal Roofing And Wall Systems And Related Methods”; and United States Patent Publication No. 2013/0008104 published Jan. 10, 2013 to Michele Caboni on “Building Construction For Making Transpirable Walls and Floors”; and United States Patent Publication 2013/0034683 published Feb. 7, 2013 to Hans Kramer et al on a “Foam Insulation Unit”; and United States Patent Publication No. 2013/0074432 published Mar. 28, 2013 to Romeo Ilarian Ciuperca on an “Insulated Concrete Form And Method Of Using Same”.